


Unwritten

by 80slovers



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Secrets, Some angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-06 01:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21218033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/80slovers/pseuds/80slovers
Summary: Will Byers and Mike Wheeler have been best friends since the beginning of time. But things begin to change when Will’s ( very personal ) journal, full of fan fiction, is stolen ...





	1. How was your summer?

The homeroom bell rang as Will Byers shuffled into class, wearing his brand new Adidas (that his mother forced him to buy), and looked for a seat (hopefully next to Mike). The pair met eyes and Mike ushered his friend over to him, a big grin plastered on his features. Will gave his best friend a grin back and plopped down in the desk chair next to Mike.

“Dude, this lady has to be at least ninety years old.” Mike whispered across the row to Will, that grin still shining.

Will looked up to their homeroom teacher and almost burst out laughing. The lady was practically one breath away from the grave. He wondered how old she must be and where she got her clothes from and when she got her clothes because all of those questions puzzled Will.

He covered his mouth with his hand and turned to face Mike. “I should be her for Halloween.”

“Very scary.”

“Okay, class!” Ms. Ganschier began and Will immediately tuned out.

He pulled out his red composition notebook and sighed. His mom just had to pack his storybook. He silently cursed his mom as he pulled the journal he meant to grab (the black one) out from behind the red one. Stacking the black journal atop the red one, Will opened up the journal and it was quickly snatched away by Mike.

“H—“ Will began but Mike shushed him and shook his head.

“Tsk, tsk.” Mike said, wagging a finger at his friend. He wrote down a few words before handing the journal back.

Ms. Ganschier’s eyes flew to the pair as they exchanged the notebook and she cleared her throat. “Boys.”

Will gulped, his eyes widening. The journal slipped out of his hands and made a smack as it hit the floor. A couple of kids around him giggled and his cheeks grew warm.

“Yes?” Mike said, a small smile on his features. Meanwhile, Will’s eyes were still as wide as saucers.

“It’s been five minutes and we’ve already decided to cause trouble, hm?” The old woman moved down the aisle that they were seated in and gave them a disapproving look.

“No, no, ma’am.” Will blurted out.

“Good.” She said before giving them one more stern look and making her way back to the front of the classroom.

Will picked up his journal and hunched down in his seat. Across the aisle, Mike was holding back a grin.

For the remainder of homeroom, Will kept his eyes plastered to Ms. Ganschier. He refused to look at Mike because he knew that if he looked over to him, he’d burst out laughing. And he definitely didn’t want that. He was not going to start his senior year off on the wrong foot.

Well, he didn’t want to start his senior year off on more of a wrong foot.

Finally, the bell rang and Will jumped up from his desk as fast as he could and raced for the door. He wanted to be out of that classroom as fast as humanly possible. Behind him, Mike was laughing and shaking his head.

“Have a great day, Ms. Ganschier!” Mike called out as he exited the room with a little wave. Will couldn’t see their teacher’s reaction from his spot by the lockers across the hall but he knew it wasn’t a pleasant one.

Once the door shut behind Mike, he burst out into laughter and Will simply stared at him.

“You are bad, Michael Wheeler.” Will said with a disapproving look.

“Hey, don’t give me that look, Byers.” Mike said, narrowing his eyes. “You kinda look like Ms. Ganschier when you do that.”

With a roll of his eyes, Will began to walk down the hallway toward his next class. Mike had to put a little pep in his step to catch up with his friend. While Mike had a good three or four inches on his friend, Will was an incredibly fast walker.

“You should really go into the Olympics,” Mike said, panting as he caught up with Will, “you know, for super speed walking.”

“You should go to the Olympics, too,” Will said with a smile, “you know, for being an idiot.”

Mike clutched his chest with his hands. “William Byers! You’ve wounded me.”

As the pair turned the corner they ran right into El, Max, and Lucas.

“Hey, strangers!” Max called out as she pulled both Mike and Will into a bear hug. The boys returned her hug and then they were released from the girl’s death grip.

“I’m gonna have a bruise now!” Will said, rubbing his arm in exaggeration. In response, Max rolled her eyes.

“You love me.” She said, smiling.

Next to him, El and Mike were suddenly in an embrace. A pretty freaking long embrace, actually.

Max and Lucas made gagging noises and voiced their disgust.

“Eeeeew.”

“Is this aloud!?”

El and Mike pulled away from each other and flipped their middle fingers up at them.

“Aw, couples who hate together, stay together!” Lucas raised a hand to his heart and sighed.

“Is that why you guys are still together?” Mike asked and El burst into laughter.

Now it was Max and Lucas’ turn to flip the others off.

Will felt incredibly uncomfortable. Over the summer, while he and Dustin were at science camp, the foursome in front of him must’ve grown closer. Especially Mike and El. Will wasn’t aware of that fact until the very moment that they embraced. A pang of hurt pulled at his heart strings.

Just as Will was about to make up some B.S. excuse to leave this very exciting fifth wheeling moment, his back pocket buzzed. He pulled out his phone and sighed in relief.

It was Dustin.

His saving grace.

**DUSTIN:** Please tell me you have math next period.

Will had to check the picture of his schedule in his camera roll before he responded.

**WILL:** AP Calc? You betcha.  
**DUSTIN:** Thank the good Sweet Baby Jesus above.

Will chuckled at Dustin’s response and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“Uh,” Will interrupted the foursome and he smiled awkwardly. “I gotta get to class so I’ll see you guys later.”

Just as he was about to make his escape, Mike asked what class he was going to.

“AP Calculus.” Will answered and the group groaned. He chuckled and gave them a small wave before he slid past them and headed toward his class.

“Will!” He heard someone call after him. Will turned around to discover who it was and he was met with bright red hair and a smile. “AP Calc? Me too.”

“Oh, cool.” Will said quietly as he fell into step with Max. She was holding a drink in her hand. Probably Mountain Dew. Max was addicted to that stuff even though Lucas was always telling her how bad it was for her insides. But Max didn’t care. Max did what Max wanted to. Will admired her for that. He wished he had that kind of confidence.

“Will?” Max asked impatiently as she waved a hand in his face. “Will?” He snapped his face over to hers and blinked. “I asked you how your summer was, doofus.”

He chuckled and shrugged. “It was pretty fun.”

“Science camp really got you going, huh?”

Will rolled his eyes and shrugged again. “Sure.”

“My summer was pretty good, too. Thank you for asking.”

“Oh, shoot. Sorry.” He said, feeling bad for not asking her sooner. “How was your summer, Max?”

She sighed. “Actually, it kind of sucked. Lucas and I broke up for a bit and the 'rents fought a lot.”

“Oh,” he said, because he wasn’t sure what else he could say, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, just some summertime blues." Max said in a singsongy voice. Everything’s fine now.” She smiled at him but Will wasn’t sure if it was a genuine one.

“Well, that’s good. Are you and Lucas back together?” He asked even though he knew the answer. Max and Lucas were one of those on again off again couples. Will didn’t really understand it but maybe it was a straight people thing.

“Yes, but he better watch himself.” She said with a hint of seriousness in her voice that made Will fear for Lucas.

The pair rounded the corner and meandered their way into their AP Calc class. When they walked through the door, they were met with a beaming smile.

“Friends!” Dustin called out, throwing his arms around his friends. “Thank God you are here.” He released them from his grip and guided them toward the table where his stuff was.

“Why are we thanking God?” Max asked as she set her backpack on the ground and slumped into a chair.

“There are absolute idiots in this class, that’s why.” He whispered, looking around to see if anyone heard him.

“And who may that be?” Max asked, taking the words right out of Will’s mouth.

“Troy and the Mouth Breathers.” Dustin said, darting his eyes away from the opposite side of the classroom quickly. “Shit. They definitely just saw me staring at them.”

Max turned her head to look at them but Will wouldn’t dare. Instead, he grabbed a chair and sat down quickly. He tried to avoid Troy and the Mouth Breathers at all costs. They were the typical school bullies and they’d been tormenting him since elementary school. He hadn’t even thought about them since the end of the last school year. Why were they even in this class? Weren’t bullies supposed to be stupid? He’d never seen them in any of his other AP classes, so how’d they end up here?

“Why are they even here?” Dustin asked quietly.

“Maybe bullies are evolving.” Will said in a whisper and Max laughed. Dustin, however, did not. His eyes grew wide and Will knew, he just knew that the Mouth Breathers were standing behind him.

“Hey, fuckheads.” Troy said, leaning over the table.

“Troyseph.” Max said, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked to his little minions. “Mouth Breathers.”

“So, fag heads, how were your summer vacations?” Troy asked before plopping down into the chair in front of Will. The minions crowded around him, their arms crossed over their chests.

“Do you guys practice these formations or does it just come naturally?” Max asked with a chuckle.

“They definitely practice.” Dustin answered, nodding his head. He was getting ballsy and that worried Will. Dustin should never try to get ballsy because when he got ballsy, things went wrong. Will didn’t think someone could get their ass whooped at science camp but Dustin proved that idea wrong. Dustin had gotten his ass whooped at science camp, all because he’d gotten ballsy.

Will kept quiet. He didn’t want to get beat up by Troy and his minions on the first day of senior year. In fact, he never wanted to get beat up. He was certain he would get seriously hurt if he was beat up. And Will wasn’t going to risk that. He’d already had enough visits to the hospital since middle school.

“I asked _how was your fucking summer, fags?_” Troy asked, smacking the table.

Will jumped in his seat and that caused the Mouth Breathers to laugh.

“Scared, Willy?” Troy asked with a smile. “He seems pretty scared to me, boys.”

The bell rang and their teacher, Mr. Graff, stood up from his desk.

“Alright, class, it’s time to get started.” He said, grabbing the chalk and beginning to write on the board. Mr. Graff turned around and looked at Troy and the Mouth Breathers. “Boys? Would you like to take a seat?”

Troy nodded and moved to stand up from his chair. As he walked past Will, he whispered, “Fag,” into his ear. He and his minions moved to the other side of the class in sync. It was almost scary how in sync they were. They sat down and grabbed their notebooks and pens.

The word echoed in his mind for the rest of the class period, and he didn’t even bother to try and understand what Mr. Graff was saying. He just doodled in his notebook for an hour and some change to avoid thinking about what had just happened.

When the bell rang, Will was thankful. He slowly packed up his things and looked behind him cautiously.

“They’re gone, Will. It’s fine.” Max said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Will nodded in response and stood up from his chair, his hands shaking slightly. He chuckled awkwardly as he grabbed his backpack.

“It’s fine, guys, really.” He said in response to their concerned stares. “A word can’t hurt me.”

But they could. They really could. And that word specifically hurt. It hurt a lot.


	2. (Almost) Saved by the Bell

The next two periods whizzed by and then Will found himself in the robotics room, munching on a PB and J that his mom had prepared that morning.

“I want to make sure you have a good first day lunch!” She said as she slapped chunky peanut butter and grape jelly onto the pieces of bread. Will just shook his head and smiled. He decided to let his mom have her mom moment.

“I cannot believe you like chunky peanut butter.” Lucas said with a grimace as he watched Will take a big bite of his sandwich.

“Sorry, I’m just superior.” Will said with a shrug as the others chuckled.

“What’s so bad about chunky peanut butter?” El asked, looking down at her peanut butter and jelly Eggo-wich. The Eggo-wich was something that Hopper had created and gifted El with once a week. 

“It’s _ disgusting, _that’s what.” Lucas said, staring at both El and Will with suspicion. “Is this because your folks are dating?”

Will and El groan. The Party loved to bring up the fact that Joyce and Hopper were dating and torment them about it.

“What? No.” Will rolled his eyes and took another bite of his sandwich. “Mmmmmm. Amazing.”

“You disgust me.” Lucas shook his head and wagged a finger at he and El.

“Hey! I never said I liked it or didn’t! I’m a neutral chunky peanut butter person.” She argued. “I’m like Sweden.”

“Switzerland.” Dustin interjected, sipping on his juice box.

“Whatever.” El said, shooing away Dustin’s comment.

“You’re the one drinking out of a juice box, Henderson.” Max commented and the Party laughed.

“Hey! Juice boxes are amazing and will never go out of style.” Dustin said with a gasp and sucked on his juice box for effect.

“Noooooo!” Mike and Lucas called out but they couldn’t stop what was coming. No one could stop El’s love for Taylor Swift.

“We will never go out of style!” El stood up from her chair and sang. “You’ve got that long hair slick back, white t-shirt!”

The boys groaned and covered their ears as Max joined in. El was a decent singer (and that was being generous) but Max on the other hand, was well… God awful. The girls danced around the robotics room and sang the rest of the song, much to the dismay of the boys. Once they finished, they bowed and waved at the imaginary crowd. 

“Wait!” El called out and shushed the room. “Did I hear ‘encore’?”

Max too shushed the room and cupped her ear. “I think I did!”

And the groans sounded all over again. Will didn’t remove his hands from his ears for the next five minutes as they sang the entirety of ‘You Need To Calm Down’. 

“Thank you, Hawkins! We love you!” They called out and blew kisses to the ‘crowd’. The girls hopped off of the table they were performing on (if you can call it that) and made their way back to the lunch table. Technically, they weren’t even supposed to eat in the robotics room. It was a ‘violation of safety’ according to their robotics teacher, Mr. Clarke, but he never got mad at them if they were to eat there. So, they took their chances. And Will liked the chancesqw of getting in trouble with Mr. Clarke much better than the chances of properly navigating the daunting modern high school cafeteria. 

“Are you done yet?” Mike asked jokingly, a small smile on his features.

“Never,” El said, plopping back down into her chair by Mike and propping her legs onto his lap. “You’re just jealous because we’re so good.”

“Uh-huh, that’s what it is.” Dustin said under his breath and Will chuckled. His chuckle was followed by a glare from El and Max.

“Don’t make me tell Joyce you’ve been bullying me!” El began to fake cry and Max did too.

“Me? Bully you!?” Will laughed. The boy couldn’t bully a toddler, even if he tried. He was the least scary member of the Party and that was with Dustin included. 

El and Max nodded, wiping away their fake tears and began to blubber even louder than before.

“Ever since you guys took that theatre class, you’ve been as extra as hell.” Lucas commented and the other boys nodded. Max glared at Lucas and he began to backtrack. “Extra... beautiful!”

Max dropped her glare and exchanged it for a smile. “Awwww, thank you. You’re soooo sweet. You’ve redeemed yourself… For now.” She said, wrapping her arms around him. As she did so, she winked at Will and he chuckled. When Lucas gave him a strange look, Will put his hands up in surrender.

Next to him, Mike stole El’s Eggo-wich and took a bite from it. He smiled to indicate his approval.

“Hopp’s a good Eggo-wich maker,” Mike said with a mouth full of Eggo and El laughed. “I mean, this is the only Eggo-wich I’ve ever had but it seems pretty great to me.”

Will looked to his right and to his left and in both directions he saw coupley things occuring. He snapped his head to Dustin, who was also looking at the coupley things. Dustin and Will met eyes and they burst into laughter. This explosion of laughter caused the foursome to look at Will and Dustin with suspicion. But the pair simply shrugged in response.

“I need some water.” Dustin stated abruptly as he stood up from his chair. His eyes connected with Will’s and Will too stood up.

“I also need water.” Will said and stood up to follow Dustin.

As Will and Dustin scuttled out of the room, the others looked at each other in confusion but returned to their coupley things. When the robotics room’s door closed, Dustin and Will rolled their eyes and groaned. 

“Why are straight people _ the _worst!?” Will asked, throwing his arms in the air. It was a genuinely confusing question for him.

Dustin erupted into laughter and shrugged. “I don’t know the answer to that either, Will.”

“Good point,” Will said with a chuckle. He and Dustin had grown close at camp. Closer than they had already been and even that would be considered uncomfortably close. But one night, when Will sat outside of the dorm buildings late into the night and watched the sky, Dustin joined him… 

_ “You’re gonna freeze out here, Will. You have like two percent body fat.” _

_ Will chuckled, looking up at his friend and happily took the blanket that he offered. “Thanks. It just … Gets tiring in there.” He was talking about how tiring it was to pretend he liked boobs and ass and lady things when he most certainly did not enjoy those things. _

_ “Yeah, all of those guys care about is a girl’s body!” Dustin said in exasperation, apparently he couldn’t believe it either. “I mean, what about the sexiest part? Their minds!” _

_ A laugh escaped Will’s lips and he sighed. “Right.” _

_ “No, really. I get it.” Dustin said, looking over to Will. _

_ But the thing is, you’ll never get it. You will never, ever, ever get it. _

_ “You can tell me anything, you know that, right?” Perhaps Dustin could read Will’s facial expressions extremely well or he was a mind reader because those words left Will’s mouth agape. “I’m here for you, okay?” _

_ All Will could do was nod before he burst into tears. He even surprised himself when the tears flooded out of his eyes and he buried himself into Dustin’s shoulder. For a while, Will wasn’t sure how long, Dustin held him… _

“but seriously when are they gonna stop doing… whatever _ that _is and be normal humans again?”

“Dunno. Have they boned yet?” Dustin asked while he tapped his chin and Will nearly choked.

“Dude! Ew!”

“What? I mean, come on, let’s be _ honest _here. All guys wanna do is bone.” 

“Uh,” Will stammered, “not me.”

“Yeah, well you’re not an ugly heterosexual teenaged boy.” Dustin said simply.

“Thank you.” He gasped, touching a hand to his heart.

“But honestly, once they bone all of that––” Dustin motioned to the robotics room, “will go away.”

“And how do you know this?” Will asked, an eyebrow raised. “Since when did you become the bone expert?”

A small smirk appeared on Dustin’s features. “I have my ways.”

“Wait… Ew!” Will was surprised by this new information. How did this happen? When did this happen? And with who? How did he even know how to do it? “Wait… Steve… Steve told you about it!”

Dustin didn’t even have to answer, Will already knew the answer from his facial expression.

“I really thought I got you there, Will.”

“Yeah, well, I know you didn’t bone anyone at camp and I don’t know when it would’ve happened before then so… Steve is the only reasonable answer to all of this.”

“Fine.” Dustin held up his hands. “But do you think any of them have boned?”

“Dustin,” Will started, “do you think I want to know that?”

His friend pondered for a moment and began to speak but Will interrupted him. “Ah, nope. I do not want to know. Not at all.”

“But I––”

“Nope. I do not want to know. I never want to ever know what it’s like to be a straight person.” Will said definitively lately before moving to take a sip of water from the water fountain that was right next to the robotics room.

“Speaking of that, when do you think you’ll tell––”

“Long water break, huh?” Mike asked as he burst through the door, raising his eyebrows. “Real thirsty, huh?”

Will then rushed into the robotics room with Dustin at his tail. As Will began to pack up his backpack and lunchbox, he and Mike made eye contact. Will chuckled nervously and stuffed his lunch box into his backpack and slung the pack over his back. He looked down to his wrist to check the time and saw there were only a few minutes left in lunch. Will glanced around him and saw Lucas and Max being coupley and immediately looked away. He tried not to look disgusted but he could barely contain it.

“What’s up with your face?” Mike prodded his cheeks with his fingers and laughed. “You look like that one character from that movie, Inside Out… What’s the name? D something…”

“Disgust?” Will deadpanned.

“Yes! That must be it. Disgust.” Mike said and a little smile curled across his cheeks. “Why so disgusted, Will the Man?”

“Just looking at El’s Eggo-wich, that’s all.” Will said and apparently, El overhead him because she shot him the bird.

“You’re just jealous!” El shouted across the room and Will just laughed, shaking his head. As he was turning back to face Mike, he saw Mike blow a kiss at El. 

_ Disgusting _.

“You and Dustin were out there for a while.” Mike said and Will nodded in response. “So, what were you guys talking about?”

Before Will could answer, the bell rang. He made a silent praise to the Lord. 

Saved by the bell. _ Phew. _

“See you later, guys!” Will called out as he rushed out of the robotics room and toward his next class. A few moments later, he felt a tug at his backpack. He turned around to find the culprit and it was a smiling boy with curly black hair.

Damn, almost saved by the bell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i hope you enjoyed! please leave a comment on anything you liked/didn't liked or want to see or what you are excited about! 
> 
> thank you for reading you are AMAZING!!!


	3. Much Easier Than Trying to Understand

Of course, with his luck, Mike was going to the same class as he was. While the pair navigated around the school to find their history class, Mike interrogated him with a bamboozle of questions. Instead of answering them, Will pretended that he couldn’t hear Mike’s pestering questions.

  


“I can’t hear you!” Will mouthed, touching his ear and then continuing down the hallway. It wasn’t a  _ complete  _ lie. For the most part, Will had bad hearing so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he actually couldn’t hear Mike in the noisy hallway. But Mike didn’t need to know he was only faking it.

  


When they arrived to the classroom, many of the seats were already taken by other students. The only remaining seats were spaced randomly within the crowds of the other students who were standing and mingling by their spots.

  


“Aw, shit!” Mike said with a frown. “This is a sad sad day for us, huh?”

  


In all honesty, Will was relieved that they wouldn’t sit next to each other (at least for today) because Will didn’t want to have to answer the questions Mike had. However if they were to sit apart for the remainder of the school year, Will would be royally screwed. He wasn’t the best at history and he had always leaned on Mike or Lucas to help him out. 

  


“Yeah, this sucks.”

  


Mike clapped Will against the back and said his goodbyes as he made his way through the throng of people to the other side of the classroom. Immediately, Mike was met with smiling faces and hugs. Mike was popular in school––or at least he was when in comparison to Will. He was fine with that though. He’d never been a fan of big crowds and he liked to keep to himself and his lifelong best friends. That was just fine for Will.

  


It took Will two anxious ridden minutes to make his way through the crowd of students to the empty seat in the middle of the classroom. Once he was seated, he took a deep breath and sighed. He looked around the room, taking in the new surroundings and seeing who he knew in the class. As his eyes scanned the room, the skin on the back of his neck grew cold. His hand flew up to his neck and––

  


_ Shit.  _

  


Will had locked eyes with none other than Troy, who was surprisingly missing his Mouth Breathers. Troy blew him a kiss and Will grimaced. When he grimaced, Troy flipped him the bird and mouthed ‘Fag’. God, did this kid just  _ live  _ to torture him? Will already knew the answer to that––yes.

  


Their teacher, Mr. Whitehouse (yes, Whitehouse as in  _ the  _ Whitehouse), called the class to attention. Immediately the class took their seats and finished up their conversations. Will was thankful for the quiet, besides the soft hum of the projector above him, that came over the students. He felt as if he hadn’t had a single moment to himself all day. But now, he could relax for a little bit, even if it was history class. Will decided that he’d actually  _ try  _ to pay attention and understand the lesson, instead of giving up a few minutes in as he normally did. He took notes throughout the entire period and even laughed (and understood) some of Mr. Whitehouse’s history jokes. Maybe the class was going to be okay!

  


When the bell rang, Will was surprised by how fast the time flew by. He packed up his things and made his way out of the classroom. By the door, Mike was waiting for him. 

  


“Okay, so that guy’s like my new favorite teacher.” Mike said matter-of-factly. “I was texting El about it the whole class.”

  


Will had to hold in a groan and a complaint about the heterosexual-ness dripping from that sentence. 

  


“Yeah, he seems pretty cool,” Will said with a shrug, “but not as cool as Ms. Ganschier.”

  


“Dude, yes. She’s my favorite favorite.” Mike chuckled and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “No one can compare to her, for real.”

  


Will was going to say something else about their homeroom teacher but Mike was too engrossed in his phone (most likely his text conversation with El) to likely pay attention. A small smile appeared on Mike’s features as his phone made a little chirping noise. Will quickly looked away from his friend and tried not to think about whatever (or whoever) was making him smile like that. 

  


Several buzzes came from Will’s back pocket and he pulled out his phone. The Party group chat was blowing up.

  


**DUSTIN:** I need ice cream ASAP

**LUCAS:** I agree

**MAX:** I third this

**EL:** ^^^

**MIKE:** I quadruple this

**DUSTIN:** Ok great

**LUCAS:** So we’re in agreement

**MIKE:** Yep

**MAX:** Wait what about Will

**LUCAS:** Will

**EL:** William

**MAX:** WILL

**MIKE:** William pick up your phone

  


Will chuckled at his phone and shook his head as he shot a text back.

  


**WILL:** Why is this even a question I am OBVIOUSLY in

**WILL:** Especially because we have friends in high places

**MAX:** God bless Dustin

**EL:** ^^^

**LUCAS:** Indeedo bandito

**MIKE:** What the fuck

**DUSTIN:** Awww guys……

**MAX:** Lucas what the fuck

**EL:** What is a bandito

  


He exited out of the group chat and sent a text to his Mom.

  


**WILL:** Hey madre, can I go to Scoops Ahoy with the Party after school? Dustin said he would drive

**MADRE:** A party on a school night!?

**WILL:** No, the Party is Max, Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and El… Remember?

**MADRE:** Oh, yes I recall now

**WILL:** So can I? :)

**MADRE:** Do you have homework?

**WILL:** No it’s the first day of school

**MADRE:** I don’t know how school works anymore!! But OK, yes. Have fun and be safe.

**WILL:** Thank you Maj love you

  


“What did Joyce say?” Mike asked as he peered over Will’s shoulder. When had he gotten so much taller than Will? He must have missed that (and a lot of other things) while he was at camp.

  


“Okay, nosy!” Will exclaimed and he pulled his phone away from Mike’s view.

  


“Got something to hide in there?” Mike raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms.

  


“None of ya business, love.” Will said, pursing his lips as he attempted his best British accent (it was not that great). He’d met a kid at camp who could do all sorts of accents and funny voices and the kid had even taught Will some of them. Will wasn’t nearly as good as the guy he had met but it was still fun to do anyways.

  


“Shut up.” The curly haired boy rolled his eyes and returned his attention to his phone. That smile smile returned and Will looked away. A small tinge of pain stung his heart at the thought of––

  


“So what’s your next period?” Mike asked and when Will looked up, Mike’s phone had disappeared from his hands. “I’ve got English.”

  


Will quickly pulled up the picture on his phone and looked at his schedule. “I’ve got art.”

  


“As your last period? Ugh, lucky.” Mike groaned and shook his head at Will. “No fair.”

  


Will just shrugged and then looked down at his watch. “Oh, shoot. The bell’s gonna ring soon.” He slipped his phone into his back pocket. “Gotta blast!”

  


Mike grabbed Will by the arm and pulled Will toward him.

  


“Wha––”

  


Mike pinched Will’s cheeks and said, “Give me some shuga, shuga!”

  


Will groaned and slipped out of Mike’s grasp. “Thanks for that, grandma.”

  


He scurried down the hall and he left Mike laughing. 

  


\----–––––––––––––

Once school let out, the Party met in the parking lot and waited for Dustin to arrive and let them into his car. While they waited, the Party (minus Dustin) played ninja. For not knowing what the game was until last summer, El was surprisingly a total ninja champ.

  


When Dustin arrived, the entire gang (yes, all six of them) piled into Dustin’s prius and headed to the mall. All the while, Lucas, who was seated shotgun, fought with Max for the aux cord. 

  


“No one wants to hear your rap, Lucas.” Max argued, grabbing the seat in front of her with force.

  


“Well, no one wants to hear your depressing indie music, Maxine.” Lucas countered as he looked over his shoulder and received a sneer from Max.

  


“Actually, her Spotify’s pretty dope.” Mike said, nodding his head but then he quickly turned away once he received an angry look from Lucas.

  


“Thank you, Mike!” Max said with a cocky smile and grabbed the aux cord from Lucas, who was clearly defeated.

  


“This isn’t over, assholes.” He hissed, turning around and crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll get the aux cord one day!"

  


“Play that one song!” El requested from her seat, which happened to be Mike’s lap. She reached across Will, who was seated in the middle seat, to smack Max on the shoulder. "The song!"

  


“What song?” Max asked in confusion as she scrolled through her Spotify.

  


“The one from Tik Tok!” 

  


“Oh, God,” everyone in the car, except El, groaned out.

  


“What!? It’s good, you guys!” El defended, shaking her head. She looked over at Max and made a pouty face. This was something that she had used on the Party often and no one, not even Hopper, could resist it. “Can you please just play the song?”

  


“Fine, but you’re buying my ice cream.” Max said as she turned on the song, which was ‘Dissolve’ by Absofacto.

  


El groaned but agreed anyways. She was obsessed with TikTok (and that was one thing that Will had not missed when he went away to camp) and would happily pay for ice cream to be able to listen to some 'bops from the Tok' as she called them. She sang along to the song and Will tried his best not to clamp his hands over his ears. 

  


Soon enough, the Party arrived at the new Starcourt Mall. The old one had been demolished back in middle school and they had only just rebuilt it. Before they had finished it, the Party mainly hung out at the Arcade (which was just fine by Will) and the movie theatre. Dustin parked his Prius with ease and the kids, packed like sardines, fell out of the car. 

  


“My bones ache!” Will groaned as he stretched his back and the others voiced their agreement. 

  


“I feel like a human pretzel!” Mike chuckled and the others added other phrases of complain.

  


“Sorry my car isn’t made for  _ six  _ people!” Dustin defended and placed a kiss on the hood of his car. “Sheila’s good to me.”

  


The others groaned in disgust.

  


“I don’t think that’s legal.” El said with a laugh as Dustin placed another kiss on the hood of his car. 

  


“Definitely not legal.” Max joined in on the taunting, as she normally did.

  


“Least it’s not named Christine.” Will said but only Mike understood the joke and he laughed. They had become avid fans of Stephen King at the end of their eighth grade year. Jonathan had showed them the original version of It (the one from 1990) and the pair decided they needed to read the novel. Reading 'It' just prompted them to read more and more novels by Sir King (as they liked to call him) and well, they fell in love. They spent the entire summer reading the novels and having a book club dedicated to it. And now, well, they were possibly Stephen King’s biggest fans. 

  


The rest of the Party gave them strange looks.

  


“What?” El asked, raising an eyebrow at the pair. "Who's Christine?"

  


“It’s a King thing.” Will and Mike said simply in unison. The rest of the Party moaned and began to walk away from them. This prompted Will and Mike to fast walk to catch up with them.

  


“Can you guys stop sucking the farts out of Stephen King’s asshole for  _ one  _ day?” Lucas asked and they all laughed. “Like, for real guys, it’s kind of scaring me.”

  


Mike rolled his eyes and Will chuckled. Will liked sharing something with Mike, having something between just he and Mike. After all, it had been only them for a while before Lucas and Dustin joined the party in the fifth grade. So it was nice, being able to have something that only they could understand. He was glad that at least that hadn’t changed while he was away at camp.

  


“Did you hear he just came out with a new novel?” Mike asked and it was mainly directed toward Will.

  


“No,” Will gasped, “Way.”

  


“Uh huh,”

  


“No freaking way!”

  


"Yep."

  


"No!"

  


“Yes fucking way!” Max exclaimed and threw her hands in the air. “Stop it, you dweebs! I can only take you guys being such dorks for so long!”

  


Will smiled sheepishly and then turned to Mike. “Okay, but seriously. Tell me  _ everything _ .”

  


“Deal.” Mike stuck out his hand but retracted it quickly. “But only if you buy me ice cream.”

  


With a roll of his eyes, Will took Mike’s hand and they shook on it. “Deal.”

  


Maybe it was Will being a lonely (and hopeful) homo but he was almost certain Mike held onto his hand for a moment too long. But when he let go, he wrapped an arm around El’s shoulders and she melted into him like a popsicle on the Fourth of July.

  


_ Well, I guess I’m just a lonely homo. No surprise there!  _ Will thought to himself.

  


The Party made their way to the main doors to the mall and headed inside. Will hadn’t been in the new mall yet so he took his time to look around at the various stores and eateries that were new to the mall. Some of them were the same but it was hard to remember. All of his associations with the former Starcourt Mall were not all too pretty. He’d rather forget about them rather than try to understand them. Because well, for Will, forgetting was much easier than trying to understand.

  


They quickly made their way to Scoops Ahoy, which was right next to the food court at the very back of the mall. The familiarity of the interior caused the skin on the back of his neck to grow icy. His hand flew up to his neck and he rubbed the spot there, hoping to keep the memories astray. But for some reason he had a feeling that this wasn’t just a familiar place to him… 

  


“Will, come on!” Max yelled out to him and that’s when he noticed he was standing alone in the middle of the food court, staring up at the glass ceiling. He hurried after Max, hoping to forget what had just happened.

  


Once the Party arrived inside the ice cream shop, Robin spotted them and called out to her co-worker, “Steve! Your kids are here!”

  


Steve emerged from the double doors, with an ice cream scoop in his hand and a smile on his face.  “Children!”

  


“Steve!” Dustin called out, and raced toward the shop counter. Before he could even get over the counter, Dustin tumbled over it and the Party burst into laughter. Once he stood up, he gave Steve a bear hug. 

  


“I missed you, man!” Dustin exclaimed as they pulled apart.

  


“Missed you more, dude!” Steve challenged him and then they continued to go on for a few more minutes about who missed who more.

  


With a roll of her eyes, Robin simply moved out of the way and greeted the rest of the Party.

  


“Kids,” She nodded before continuing, “What can I get ‘cha?”

  


“I have to pee.” El blurted out and Max chimed in, claiming that she too had to pee. 

  


“Do you want anything?” Robin asked and pointed her ice cream scoop at them.

  


“Mike and Lucas know what we want.” They said in unison before rushing out of the shop and toward the restrooms that were adjacent to the food court.

  


“Uhhh…” Mike and Lucas groaned out and looked at each other but they were both as clueless as ever.

  


“Shit.” Lucas said quietly. "I don't need her to break up with me again today!"

  


"Again... _Today_?" Will asked and he tried to hold back laughter.

  


“You go ask them!” Mike said, pushing Lucas toward the shop’s exit. At first, Lucas argued but he eventually gave in, no one wanted El and Max upset. And especially not El and Max upset  _ together _ . So he ran off after them and that left only Will and Mike standing in front of the counter.

  


“Well?” Robin asked and raised an eyebrow and looked between them. “What’ll ya have?”

  


Will and Mike pondered for a moment as they examined the flavors carefully. There were nearly thirty flavors to choose from and they ranged from fruity to chocolatey. There was really no point in looking, Will already knew what he wanted. He got the same flavor every time.

  


“I, for one, would like chocolate peanut butter,” Will said and rocked back on his heels, “please.”

  


“I’ll go for…” Mike tapped his chin thoughtfully before continuing, “Cookies and cream, please.”

  


“Comin’ right up!” Robin said with a smile as she grabbed two small cups and an ice cream scoop. Once she turned away, Mike pulled Will to the far side of the shop.

  


“Yes?” Will asked, looking up at Mike for an answer.

  


_ Well, this is odd.   
_

  


“Are you okay?” Mike questioned with a look of genuine concern on his face.

  


“What? Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” He said with a shrug, trying to avoid Mike’s eyes. Will didn’t feel fine. He didn’t really know  _ how  _ he was feeling but he knew, for one thing, it wasn’t ‘fine’.

  


“You can talk to me, y’know, right?”

  


“I know, Mike, I know.” 

  


“Then what’s wrong? You’ve been acting weird since history.” Mike paused, “Wait, no, since lunch.”

  


“I’m just tired that’s all.” Will said, trying his best to lie to his friend. His  _ best  _ friend. Will wasn’t a very good liar so this was not likely to end well.

  


“Was it because of that asshole, Troy?” Mike asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because if so, I will royally fuck his shit up!”

  


Will laughed and shook his head. “You’re too much, Wheeler.”

  


“Me!?” He gasped as if he was offended. “Never!”

  


Another chuckle escaped Will’s lips as Mike balled up his fists playfully. Mike smacked Will softly on the shoulder and in response, Will grabbed his fist and shoved it away from him.

  


“Get off me, boy!” Will exclaimed as he attempted the British accent once again. “Puhlice! Puhlice! Puhlice! Nine one one!”

  


“Shut up, Byers!” Mike smacked Will in the shoulder, harder this time, in hopes that he would actually shut up. Will raised his hands in surrender but he was still laughing. Then Mike wrapped his arm around Will and ruffled his hair. In response, Will groaned and tried to wrangle free from Mike's grip.

  


“Now, shut up and buy me some ice cream, Byers!” Mike demanded and placed a kiss on his cheek.

  


“Uh––”

  


“Kids! Your ‘scream’s ready!” Robin called out to the pair, showcasing the two cups of ice cream with a smile. 

  


Maybe this was a sign that just ignoring straight boys was much easier than trying to understand them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i'm sorry this took a bit! i had 3 exams this week ahhahahahaha lol but this chapter is pretty long so i hope you enjoy!! <3
> 
> thank you so so so so much for reading!


	4. Unless...

“Thanks for the ride, Dusty Buns!” Will calls out before he slams the car door to Dustin’s prius shut. He made his way up the gravel driveway, where his mom’s car was already parked, while taking in the cool autumn air. There were a few things that Will liked about Hawkins and this was one of them.

Once Will arrived at his front door he slid his around the door handle and tried to open it. It was locked.

Right. Will always managed to forget that after everything that had happened in middle school that his mother always locked the front and back doors as well as the windows. You’d think he’d remember that by now but of course he didn’t.

He dug the house key out of his backpack and slid the key into the lock just as the door opened. None other than Joyce Byers answered the door and engulfed her son into a hug.

“My boy!” She exclaimed and kissed his forehead.

“Hey, mom,” Will said softly into her shoulder. Over the summer he’d grown a few inches but he still pretended that his mom was taller, just to make her happy.

“How was your first day of senior year?” She asked, adding extra emphasis on ‘senior year’. “Was it everything you hoped for and more?”

“Uh,” Will pulled away from his mom, “Sure?”

“That doesn’t sound very promising.” She said, raising an eyebrow at him as she slid behind him to close the door (and lock it).

“It was just alright, I guess.” He said with a shrug and then he let his backpack slid to the floor and he plopped onto the couch. “Much better now!”

His mom laughed and took a seat in the La-Z-Boy across from the couch. She crossed her legs and looked at her son intently. “Why was it just alright? Did something happen?”

With a roll of his eyes, Will groaned and shook his head. “Nothing happened, mom. It was just a boring day, that’s all.”

She raised an eyebrow at him (which was something she did often) before leaning back into the chair. “Jonathan called me earlier.”

“Yeah?” Will asked and sat up a little bit.

“He just said that his photo––” She stopped herself and tapped her chin. “Photography? Videography? Something with a ‘phy’ at the end… Anyways, his professor seemed like a real jerk.”

“That’s too bad.” Will said and wondered if he should call Jonathan later, too. “My teachers are pretty cool. My history teacher’s name is Mr. Whitehouse, like  _ the  _ Whitehouse.”

“Huh… Are you sure he’s not lying?” Joyce asked with a laugh.

“Pretty sure.”

“So, how was ice cream?”

“It was good. Yummy.”

Then from the hall table, Joyce’s phone rang.

“That’s it?” She asked as she got up from the La-Z-Boy to answer her phone.

“Well, yeah. I think El and Mike are dating now.” As Will said that, Joyce answered the phone and Will heard Hopper scream, “WHAT!?”

“Oops!” Joyce said quietly as she tried not to laugh and stepped off into her room.

After his mom left the room, Will picked up his backpack and headed to his bedroom. He dropped his backpack by the door and sat down into his desk chair. As he opened up his laptop, he felt his back pocket buzz.

**JONATHAN:** Miss you dude

**WILL:** Miss you too! Mom said one of your professors is an ass

**JONATHAN:** Mom said “Ass” in front of you?

**WILL:** No, she said “jerk” but I know she meant ass

**JONATHAN:** Hahhaah typical Mom. Yeah, my prof sucks though. This class is gonna be a doozy.

**WILL:** What class?

**JONATHAN:** Cinematography.

**WILL:** Mom said it was something with “graphy” lol. Good luck with that!

**JONATHAN:** Thanks :/ Anyways, gotta go to tutoring.

**WILL:** Tutoring for what???? Isn’t it the first day

**JONATHAN:** The grind never stops. Later.

Will chuckled and put his phone down on his desk. Jonathan was a junior at Purdue University and he thankfully only lived two hours away. Will and his mom got to see Jonathan every month but in between those times, Will missed his car jam buddy. He sighed and opened his computer and pulled up Google.

‘STEPHEN KING THE INSTITUTE’ was what Will typed into the search engine and waited for answers. Within two minutes, Will found the book, ordered it, and found out it would arrive in the next few days. He smiled in satisfaction and grabbed his phone.

**WILL:** Just ordered Sir King’s new book.

**WILL:** Very satisfied

**WILL:** Have you gotten it yet?

When Mike didn’t respond right away, Will closed his phone and looked around his room. He decided that he’d look through his class syllabi and mark dates down on his calendar. Will was going to (try to) be a good student this year!

He got up from his desk and slung his backpack onto his bed. As he sat down, he unzipped the bag and started pulling out the various journals and folders from the day. He had his journal for homeroom, his math journal, his english journal, his history journal, his physics journal, his robotics folder, his art folder, and then his general folder. The general folder held all of the syllabi. He pulled out the various syllabi and looked at them. He groaned once he saw he had two tests in one day several times in the upcoming months. 

Will stood up from his bed and grabbed the Star Trek calendar, that Jonathan had gotten him for Christmas the year before, off of the wall and moved to his bed once more. For the next twenty minutes, Will marked down project dates and test dates and holidays into his calendar. He smiled when he reached December and circled the last day of school before winter break. It could not come soon enough!

He looked through his supplies once more and then he paused abruptly.

“Oh, shit.”

Will began to frantically search through the supplies splayed on his bed. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he began to search through every nook and cranny of his brand new backpack, but none of the nooks and crannies that his small hands fit into could fit his journal.

_ There has to be a way my journal is here.  _ Will thought to himself as he tried not to panic.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind. Without thinking it through, Will turned the backpack inside out. All of his pens and pencils, loose papers and a few gum wrappers fell out all over his bed.

“Oh, great!” He groaned and shook his head. Will then began to rummage through the stacks of folders and various journals with haste. If that journal had gone missing, he was going to be a dead man.

_ Could I even call myself a man yet? _ Will thought but then continued to panic.  _ If what’s in that journal somehow gets out, I’d be out and I’m not ready for that. Hell no. Not even in this century would that be happening. _

Will’s heart began to race rapidly against his chest. His deepest and darkest secrets and fantasies were inside of that journal. 

_ Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. _

His mind began to throw out a million questions at him:  _ What if the Party were to find that journal? What would they say about it? About  _ ** _you_ ** _ ?  _

He could practically hear the laughter now. It’s as if it’s echoing throughout his mind. The whole-hearted bursts of laughter keep getting louder and louder, closer and closer, his mind’s eye trying to focus on anything but those terrible sounds. And the focus happens to fall onto him. And then suddenly everything is okay. From the soft arch of his lips to the gentle curvature of his neck, to the dark, curly hair. He smiled at Will and his heart instantly felt warm and at peace. That smile told him “ _ It’s going to be okay” _ . But suddenly, the image changed. He began to laugh, point a finger at Will, and make those awful gestures that the others were making.

And then the question arises, what would  _ he  _ do if he were to find the journal?

The kind smile turning into one of a malicious taunting flashed through Will’s mind like an old-fashioned picture movie coming to life. The transformation of the smile flashed with each small change, becoming faster and faster in his mind that he could no longer keep track.

_ Let anyone but him find out.  _ ** _Anyone but him._ **

Although his name is never specifically used in there––Will’s not  _ that _ dumb, okay?––it was pretty damn obvious who the mysterious yet charming sorcerer was. The cheeky smile, curly hair, the kind eyes. Yeah, it was obvious all right. 

“Shit!” Will exclaimed, “Okay, maybe whoever found it wouldn’t know it was mine. My name sure as hell wasn’t on it and I never took it out at school––except for the one time that I did and I happened to lose it!” 

Will groaned and sank down onto his bed, amidst the folders and journals. He began to wrack his brain for all of the possible places it could be: 

  1. A) His backpack. Cross that off. 
  2. B) His locker. But he hadn’t even put anything in there yet. Cross that off. 
  3. C) His classrooms. 

“Shit!”

He had eight of those. 

Carefully, Will thought about his classes and when he took out which folders and journals and for which class. His brain began to hurt as he was thinking so hard.

“Why me!” He cursed under his breath. Will had no possible idea of when he could’ve lost it.

Across the room, his phone buzzed. Will hopped up from his bed and grabbed his phone.

**MIKE:** Ok we get it! You’re better than me!

**MIKE:** Hey did you know we have HOMEROOM HOMEWORK!?

**MIKE:** What the fuck!!!!!!!

Just as Will was about to respond about how absurd homeroom homework was, he stopped.

“Wait!” He tapped his chin and threw his phone down to his desk. “That’s it!”

Will believed his journal must have fallen out in homeroom. And then he left his journal in homeroom when he was trying to get away from Ms. Ganschier.

_ It’ll definitely still be there. Surely no one in the locker room would care about a journal with no name on it. Right?  _

“God, let’s hope I’m right…” Will sighed as he began to put his school supplies back into his backpack.

“Honey!” Joyce shushed her son and motioned to the phone from the doorway. The doorway, which he hadn’t realized in all of his panic, had been opened.

“Nothing!” Will exclaimed as he chucked his backpack behind him.

“What are you doing?” She asks Will and then into the phone she says, “Hold on, Hop.”

Will gives her a confused look. “What?” And that’s when he realizes that his stuff is still all over my bed. Thankfully, his eyes catch the red pen on the floor and he laughed and smacked himself in the head. “Doy!” He went to pick up the pen and then he smiled up at her. “Lost my pen.”

“Uh, okay,” Joyce says although she doesn’t seem like she’s fully convinced. “Just keep it down, okay?” She asked before she walked away. 

Will sighed and sank onto the floor in a helpless puddle of sorrow. After a few minutes, Will stretched his neck to look over at his bedside table to check the time on the Spock clock. The clock had been a gift from Will’s dad from several Christmases ago and it made Will feel ambivalent. It was just past seven, which meant he had over twelve hours until he could go search the locker room for his lost journal. 

_ Unless… _

Will jumped up from his spot on the floor and hurried over to his desk to pick up his phone. He opened his phone and went straight to the phone app and dialed the number and waited for the person on the other line to pick up.

“Hello?”

That definitely wasn’t Mike.

“Hey, Holly!” Will greeted in hopes that he would be able to sweet talk Mike’s very sassy little sister. “What’s up? Can I tal––”

And then the line clicked and went silent.

“Brat.” Will rolled his eyes but laughed anyways as he dialed the number once more. Thankfully, Mike picked up the phone this time.

“Sorry, Holly was playing on my phone because she got her iPad taken away.”

“Ah, okay. What’d she do though?” Will laughed when he heard a very snotty retort which clearly came from Holly.

“She says I can’t tell you.” Mike said with a chuckle and he told Holly to go to her room. “So, what’s up, Will the Man?”

“We have a mission.”

“A mission?”

“Yes, a mission.” Will said simply, although he wasn’t even sure of the plan behind the mission quite yet.

“What  _ kind  _ of mission are we talkin’ here, Byers?”

“A  _ secret  _ mission.” He said in a whisper.

“Aren’t all missions secret?”

“Uh––Hm… I guess so.” He said and pondered the question but only for a moment. “Anyways, the mission.”

“Yes, the mission.” Mike said with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

“Four words,” He said slowly, “Sneak out to school.”

“This mission involves  _ school? _ ” He whines.

“Yes but it’s fun, okay?”

“How will sneaking out and going to school be fun, Will?”

“Because we have to double sneak out.”

“Double sneak out? What does that even mean?”

“Sneaking out twice. In one mission.”

“Ahhhhh, I see. I mean, yes, I get it.”

“Okay, great. I’ll text you the deets.” And before Mike could ask any more questions, Will hung up the phone. He placed his phone down on his desk and smiled to himself. Maybe this was an idiotic idea but he was excited nonetheless. Will had missed Mike over the summer, much more than he’d like to admit so he was looking forward to catching up without other distractions. Other distractions as in girls. And girls as in one: El.

He began to put together a master plan for this double sneak out and just as he was about to write down the plan, he felt a cool breeze slide across his neck. His hand flew up to his neck and it was icy cold. It was much colder than it had been earlier in the day. The skin there was sensitive as his fingers brushed against it. He could feel a cool breeze against his fingers and a shiver traveled down his spine slowly.

The light on his desk flickered for a few moments and his eyes grew wide. In the brief moment that the light went out, he saw something appear outside of his window. Something that was all too familiar. It was a dark, shadowy figure, one that resembled some kind of cross between an insect and an animal. The dark figure turned to him, opened its mouth, and screamed but the sound wasn’t a scream. It was a whisper, “Come.”

But when the light returned, it was gone.


	5. The Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> will and mike embark on their mission and some weird stuff goes down at hawkins high...

Will’s heart was beating at what felt like a million miles a minute as he sped down the driveway. He prayed to the sweet, sweet Lord above that his mother wouldn’t wake up. Frankly, he had no idea what he would say to her if she caught him. Lying was not one of Will’s specialties. And Joyce Byers knew her son better than anyone else; she would see right through him.

The late night shitty DJ radio flooded through the speakers and Will immediately shut it off. He didn’t want any distractions. The boy didn’t even have his license yet but he at least knew the basics of driving: the gas pedal, the brake pedal, the gear shift, and NO DISTRACTIONS! That last part came from his mother but he thought he might as well follow some of her rules. God, if Joyce Byers found out what he was doing she might skin her son alive.

Will shook away the thought and focused on the road, making a left turn then a right and then a left. He was on Hawkin’s main road. It was dark and quiet at this time of night even though it was barely midnight. Hawkins usually became a ghost town after eleven but what did he know? He was rarely out at night and when he was, he was indoors. When he stopped at the next stop sign, a shiver made its way up his spine as he looked to either side of the road. On his right and his left all he could see was a forest of darkness. He sped through the stop sign quickly, hoping to get far from that intersection. 

He slowed down once he made it to Mike’s street, partly because he didn’t want to cause a ruckus and partly because he was kind of regretting this decision. 

“No!” He called out and he surprised himself. “Don’t be a pussy, Byers!”

So he decided to not be a pussy. He pulled into the cul-de-sac where Mike’s house was and parked the car.

**WILL:** Hey I’m here

**MIKE: **Thanks but I have eyes yknow

**WILL: **Ok Dickey Mouse

Will watched as Mike jogged up to his (mother’s) car with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Mike tried to pull the car door open, but it was locked.

“Oops!” Will said before unlocking the doors with a shaky hand.

“Byers,” Mike nodded, plopping down into the passenger seat and buckling his seat belt almost immediately. Will took offense to the action. “What!? You don’t even have your license. I’m just taking precautionary measures.”

Will just rolled his eyes as he put the car into gear and rolled down the street toward the main road of Hawkins once more. “I’m probably a better driver than you anyways,”

“How would you know that?” Mike countered, giving his friend a look. “You’ve never even been in the car with me while I’m driving.”

“I know because I’ve known you since forever and I know you get distracted very easily,” Will said simply. “So that’s how I know.”

“Will! You think _ I’m _the bad driver!?” Mike called out as Will ran through a stop sign. “Also, who the fuck is Dickey Mouse?”

“Oops!” Will laughed but Mike was not very amused. “It’s like Mickey Mouse but… like a dick instead of a 'mick'. Get it?”

Mike shook his head and rubbed his temples. “You’re too much.”

“So, what’s with the duffel bag?” Will asked, hoping to change the subject. He thought the Dickey Mouse joke was pretty funny but whatever.

“You said it was a _ mission, _ Byers. I brought the essentials.” Mike said and unzipped the duffel bag and pulled out some tools and burglar masks.

“MIKE!” Will practically screamed and stopped the car. “We’re just sneaking into school! We’re not murdering someone!”

“Hey! Well, you weren’t very clear!”

“You thought I would ask you to _ kill _ someone!?” Will exclaimed and then paused before asking, “Wait, is that an _ axe!? _”

“Byers, you were not very clear over the phone! What was I to expect?” Mike shrugged and then he pulled out the axe, “Yes, yes it is.”

“Put that back!” Will screamed at his friend with wide eyes. 

Mike sighed with a chuckle and put the axe back into the bag. “Fine, no murdering. But, if you ever need an axe, I got you.”

“Okay, Johnny. Just don’t come anywhere near me. And please zip up that bag and never open it again.” Will said and gave his friend a look before he said under his breath, “Crazy ass.”

All Mike did was laugh, and a smile spread across Will’s face. The Stephen King references couldn’t be stopped.

The pair had arrived at school much faster than Will had anticipated. _ Shit. _He hadn’t thought this far ahead. Thankfully, Mike was his best friend. And Mike was always thinking ahead.

Will parked the car and the pair sat in silence for a few moments. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest and he swore that Mike would be able to hear it.

“So…” Mike started and looked over at Will. “What now?”

“I didn’t think this far ahead,” Will spoke, “I honestly didn’t think we would make it this far.”

Mike laughed and shook his head. 

“I figured.” Mike said, before he opened his duffel bag once more. “Thankfully! Mama Wheeler is a substitute teacher at Hawkins High.” Once he said this, he pulled out her teacher’s badge and a set of keys.

“Mike Wheeler! You’re a genius!” Will called out, raising his hand for a high five.

As their hands met, a shot of electricity flooded Will’s body. _ Weird, _Will thought to himself before looking up. Apparently, Mike felt something too because he had a strange look on his face.

“Did you feel that?” Mike asked and Will nodded.

“Weird.” They both said before laughing awkwardly because they were unable to explain what had just happened.

“Okay, let’s go.” Will said in an authoritative tone, which surprised Mike, and unbuckled his seat belt and pulled the key out of the ignition.

“Sir, yes, sir!” Mike said with a salute and Will just laughed. 

The pair exited the vehicle and began walking toward the school. As they walked toward the school, their hands brushed and that same shock ran throughout their bodies. They both felt it but decided to ignore saying something about it.

Will’s hands shook violently as they neared the main doors of the school and he shoved them into the pockets of his sweatshirt. 

“So, no ski mask?” Mike asked, looking over at Will.

“No. I don’t want to look like a murderer,” Will shook his head, “But thanks!”

“Fine, but I personally think we’d look badass.”

Will rolled his eyes and he wondered what part of his brain decided _ this _was the best idea to find his notebook. Clearly not the logical part, that’s for sure.

“Wait,” Mike stopped in his footsteps and looked at Will. “Why are we here?”

“You ask that _ now? _” Will asked with a chuckle. “You’re something else, Wheeler.”

“I know!” He said and a grin spread across his features. “So, why?”

“I left my notebook.” 

“A _ notebook!? _ We’re here for a _ notebook!? _” Mike yelled out and Will clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Shut up!” Will shushed his friend and then removed his hand from Mike’s mouth. He had kept it there for a little too long but it felt nice... He shook away the thought and continued, “Yes, okay? It’s important.” Will said and he meant it. It was _ very _ important and _ no one _ could find it. God forbid read it!

“Okay.” Mike said simply. He believed Will. If he said it was important, then it was. “So, where did you leave it?”

“I think in homeroom.” 

“Ahhh, okay,” Mike nodded.

“Okay, we’re here.” Will said but he froze in his place. It all became too real when he stood in front of the main doors and stared into the dark and empty hallways.

“Come on, Byers!” Mike said as he pulled out the teacher’s badge and scanned it, at first the button flashed a yellow color but then it flashed green and a buzzing sound alerted them. The doors unlocked and the pair slipped inside.

“Woah,” Will said in awe as he looked around the halls. It was really weird, how different it was.

“This is weird,” Mike murmured before he continued down the hall, not wasting any time. 

“Slow down!” Will whisper yelled as he speed walked to catch up to his friend. “You’re taller than me! I cannot keep up!”

“C’mon, slow poke!” Mike whisper yelled back and then took off running down the hall.

“Mike!” Will groaned before he too began to run down the hall after him. Mike slowed to a jog as he turned around and jogged backwards. 

“Show off!” Will whisper yelled and flipped him the bird.

“Byers, you’re lagging!”

“Dick!” Will said as he panted. He stopped to put his hands on his knees and take a few breaths before he took off again.

Ahead of him, Mike was stopped and seemed to be waiting for Will in front of a classroom door. When Will walked up, he read the sign plastered on the door, ‘Ms. Ganschier’. Mike held up the key, which he explained opened all of the academic hall doors. With a look of excitement in his eyes, he slid the key into the lock.

“Here goes nothing,” Will whispered and the door lock clicked before the door swung open. The boys glanced at each other.

“Just me or was that _ too _easy?” Will asked and took a small step into the room.

“That was _ way _too easy.” Mike said in awe before stepping inside the classroom with confidence and then he turned back to Will. “What if Ms. Ganschier sleeps in here? Like in a coffin.”

Will smacked Mike in the arm and that electricity shot up his arm. He paused for a moment and looked at Mike. His friend stared back at him and shrugged.

“We have a mission. Find the red notebook.” Will took a deep breath as he took a few more steps into the room.

“Fine,” He said, “But I bet you ten bucks she’s here somewhere.” 

And it was as if Mike’s words spoke something into reality because suddenly, the projector turned on and a loud whirring noise echoed throughout the room.

“What the fuck is that!?” Will asked and ducked down to the ground almost instantly.

“I don’t fucking know!” Mike called back and also ducked down to the ground.

After a few moments, the projector turned back off and the whirring noise stopped. A shiver rose up Will’s spine once more and his breath hitched. He took a deep breath in an attempt to shake away the anxiety that was rising in his chest.

“Okay, what the absolute fuck was that?” Will asked and he looked over at Mike. His friend simply shrugged and triedto remain calm.

“Maybe it was just …”

“Don’t say the fucking wind!” Will whisper shouted over to Mike. "Don't you say it!"

“I wasn’t going to say that!” Mike laughed quietly and shook his head, “Let’s just find the book and get the fuck out of here.”

“Fine by me!”

Mike stood up quickly whereas Will carefully stood up, he was still fearful of the projector. They began to look around the classroom; from the desks, to the floor, to the bookshelves, and even their teacher’s desk.

“Nothing,” Mike said from across the classroom. Will’s heart sank as his friend spoke.

_ Shit. This was not good. _

“Nothing for me either.”

“Damn,” Mike concluded and walked over towards Will. He placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. There was that shock again. Both of them simply ignored it. It was too strange to try and understand, at least for now. “I’m sorry, man.”

“It’s okay, I guess.” Will said defeatedly. “It just.. It’s _ really, really _important, Mike.”

“Well, what is it?” Mike asked, a genuine look of concern on his features.

“It’s …” Will contemplated for a few moments, trying to decide if he should tell the truth. He decided the partial truth would work for now. “It has my stories in it, that’s all.”

“Oh, well that’s not too bad, right?” Mike said and Will’s shoulder. Until now, Mike had forgotten that his hand was on his friend’s shoulder.

“No, it’s _ bad _bad.” Will said softly and looked down at Mike’s hand. It was still on his shoulder.

“What do you mean?” Mike asked and retracted his arm from Will’s shoulder quickly.

“We should probably go, Mike.” Will said and made his way for the door.

“Will, come on,” Mike said urgently and pulled on his friend’s arm. “You can talk to me. I’m your best friend!”

_ Yeah, that’s the problem here. _

“I know, Mike. I know.” Will sighed but he refused to meet Mike’s eyes. “It just has really personal stories in it. I didn’t even mean to bring it to school. My mom just packed it in my bag on accident, I guess.”

“I’m sure it’s just in another classroom, yeah? Do you want to go look?” Mike offered and held up the keys he retrieved from the lock.

“No, I’m _ positive _I left it here.” Will said and though he was trying to hide his defeat, he was failing. If Joyce Byers knew Will the best then Mike Wheeler was a very close second.

“It’ll be okay, Will.” Mike said before he pulled Will into a hug. “I’ll look out for it and punch anyone who took it. Or even if they have a red journal. It’ll be on sight!"

Will chuckled and wrapped his arms around Mike. It was nice. Just standing there and hugging him, almost as if it was meant to be. But then he thought of Mike and El, how they were laughing and sharing ice cream and exchanging glances. He pulled away from Mike quickly.

“Thanks, Mike,” He said with a smile. “Really, thank you.”

“Of course, Will. Anytime.” Mike consoled his friend before he shut the door behind them and put the set of keys into his pocket. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here before Ms. Ganschier gets us or something.”

Will laughed and smiled at Mike. His friend smiled back as he wrapped an arm around Will.

_ God damn Mike Wheeler. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i'm sorry it's been a while since i've posted a chapter, i've just been so busy with school! i hope you like it <3 some bit of fluff to get you through what is about to be a total shit show! 
> 
> thank you for reading!!! i love u.

**Author's Note:**

> hi! thank you so much for reading!! i hope you enjoy it! this is my first like ... full fledged out fanfic so i hope that you like it <3 i will try to update as often as i can!!
> 
> also please note that all of the characters are 17-18. they are in their senior year of high school. this is a modern au.


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